


Fallen and Reborn (blood is the seal of our devotion)

by mathildaimperatrix



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Adultery, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Lots of romance, Lyanna ain't Jon Snow's mother, Multi, Suicide, lots of au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 06:56:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 6,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1183241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathildaimperatrix/pseuds/mathildaimperatrix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short fics about the members of House Dayne.</p><p>Chapter twenty: "You know, if you wanted to spend more time with me you should had said so, we are engaged after all"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arthur I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He remembers Allem’s laugh, deep yet cheerful, and Ashara’s hair when the midday’s sun would reflect on it.

The Tower of Joy is dark and sad against the sand of the mountains and Arthur can’t think of anything but how he wishes to be with his siblings in Starfall (reading stories to Allyria or walking through the gardens with Ashara are some of the things he had imagined in his long task). He remembers Allem’s laugh, deep yet cheerful, and Ashara’s hair when the midday’s sun would reflect on it. 

How old was Allyria now? She must have been three or four years since he last saw her, happily asking him if he was ever coming back to play with her now that she was big enough to go all over the castle without her septa running behind her. Arthur had promised her he would return when princess Elia wanted to visit her brothers at Sunspear, but for now they had to wait for her to feel better; Allyria complained at that but she told him she would pray for her recover (something he was sure she learned from the septa). 

At his right, Ser Gerold is polishing his sword, maybe preparing for a fight or just looking for something to do, Arthur doesn’t know and is not sure he wants to know if the White Bull misses someone too. He shakes the memories from his head and hope they won’t sneak in when he’s not watching.


	2. Ashara I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She danced with almost every knight and Lord in the room (except with King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar, whom she didn’t like one bit), talking to them and watching them create an imaginary life with her as their Lady

She had chosen her gown especially for that night, the silk of the dress was lilac and tremendously soft to the touch. Princess Elia had sighted and said she wished that color would look as good as it did on her and Ashara had felt secretly pleased at the compliment. She knew she was beautiful and knew men always fell for a pretty face (and it did help the fact men weren’t as smart as they thought they were), but for tonight, she took extra care with her appearance.

She danced with almost every knight and Lord in the room (except with King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar, whom she didn’t like one bit), talking to them and watching them create an imaginary life with her as their Lady. She danced with her brother twice (and had to endure him annoyingly rolling his eyes at her every time she took another partner), with the rest of the Kingsguard and every other little lord who approached her wearing a timid smile. 

“My Lady, my brother Ned would like you to dance with him.” Brandon Stark said from behind her while sporting a very badly faked serious face. She turned and lifted one eyebrow “He’s awfully shy and he said to me you are good dancer” he said like an afterthought. 

She looked behind him and saw a less bearded and quieter version of Brandon Stark; he was sat between a short man and a girl who looked a lot like him. It must be his sister, she thought. Ned, as if feeling her stare, lifted his head and gawked at her, instead of laughing, she winked an eye at him and made him blush deeply. Brandon, who was watching, did laugh and said:

“You are going to kill him, poor thing”

“I know”


	3. Ned I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Those who fulfill their vows end up dead before their time”

Ned didn’t remember a time where the greatsword Dawn wasn’t in Starfall. Aunt Allyria and his father (before he fell sick and had to watch him wither, but Ned didn’t want to think about it) had told him that Dawn was only for great warriors considered worthy. But how do you know who is worthy, he would ask, but no one had the answer.

Instead, they told him about Ser Arthur, his uncle and the last Sword in the Morning (Ned always thought it was a stupid title, really), who was one of the best knights in the realm and who had died doing his duty (nobody mentioned what duty, thought). With the passing of his father, those stories became more and more fantastic by the hand of Aunt Allyria, filled with smiling knights and dragons and knightly values. 

Ned had stories in his head. He dreamed about becoming the bearer of Dawn and fighting everyone in his way of becoming like his Uncle Arthur… Until he had to go squire for Lord Beric and watch the horrors of the war by the hands of knights who swore an oath to protect the innocent. Did his aunt lie to him? His father? 

“Those who fulfill their vows end up dead before their time” He said to himself grimly while looking at Dawn “Like Lord Beric and Uncle Arthur”

Now Ned doesn't remember a time where his nightmares weren't filled with fires and screams.


	4. Arthur II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He almost felt as if he was living in another reality and waited for his friend to tell him it was just a joke.

Rhaegar had looked at him unblinkingly in his calm sort of way and told him about his plan, how he pretended to make it all work without starting a war, how it was destined to be. Arthur didn’t believe him and made sure the Crown Prince knew about his feelings on the matter. He almost felt as if he was living in another reality and waited for his friend to tell him it was just a joke.

It wasn’t.

He hated the convincing tone in the Prince’s voice, the voice that told him it was going to be alright if he just follows him without asking questions. He hated Rhaegar’s confidence. He hated how he could see all the wrong that would occur. But what Arthur hated more was how he was more worried about Princess Elia feelings when she realized. 

(he couldn’t bring himself to hate the man completely, though)


	5. Allyria I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They tell her it’s her duty as the new Lady of Starfall to prepare her sibling’s funeral.

They tell her it’s her duty as the new Lady of Starfall, to run the castle and to prepare her sibling’s funeral. She’s barely seen six namedays and Allem and the maester are already nagging her about duties; they don’t understand that she just wants to play dress up with Ashara’s old dresses and pretend her sister is still there laughing whenever Allyria said something ridiculous (which is often to Allem’s chagrin).

But she too has to pretend she’s not affected by their death because if Allem sees her crying then he would get sad and would close himself in his study for days, who then was going to be strong for him if she wasn’t?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (you can send me prompt or anything or anyone you want to see in here, by the way)


	6. Ashara/Ned & Jon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The babe did not wake up even when she reached for Dawn,

She didn't weep nor shed any tears in front of Eddard bloody Stark, she just nodded at his offering and turned around to try to calm herself. Ashara shut her eyes. She knew he was struggling to say something, maybe to fight for the baby on her arms or to just say goodbye to her. _We are long past that, Ned, what happened to us?_ , she thought to herself.

The babe did not wake up even when she reached for Dawn, she moved him from one arm to the other and held the sword tight. It was heavy but she didn't care, even if she wasn't the Sword in the Morning it was her responsibility as a member of House Dayne to carry it. She remembered Arthur teaching her one afternoon how to hold a sword "just in case" as he had said smiling (Ashara didn't practiced with Dawn, oh no, Arthur was protective of his precious greatsword as much as a mother hen).

The sword held many memories and Ashara half wanted to give it to a guard and get it away from her and to wait for its new bearer. _I would be dead by then_ , she thought. Another person fighting and polishing Arthur's sword was plain wrong in Ashara's mind. 

"I don't want to see you anymore" She said facing Ned again. She had schooled her face into a cold mask.

"I understand, Ashara, I do, but he's my son too. You can't-"

"Can't what? He's not your child, Ned, I gave birth to him alone while you were marrying that Tully girl in the Riverlands" He slumped his shoulders and the sword at his bell clacked against the floor.

After a bit, she muttered:

"He's waking up, is better if you go" She said, softening her voice a little.

"A least let me name him," It was an odd request but she figured she owed to him. "Jon, Jon Sand" Ned said the name as if he was saying a praying to his sacred trees. 

After he left for the North, she tasted it in her mouth and decided in wasn't that bad for a name.

 


	7. Ned/Arya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned loves all of her, really.

He likes Arya. He likes her very much.

He likes the way she fights with him and doesn't want him to let her win even if he pretends he's not doing it ("It's unfair, Ned! I can beat you without any help" "What are you even talking about?"). He likes her confidence and that she let's him see her softer side when the ghosts of the past roam the halls of Winterfell. He likes her hair, that it is so dark it looks lovely against his pale one when they lay together after training.

(He also likes her mouth and eyes most of all, but she would hit him if he were to say it out loud)

Ned loves all of her, really.


	8. Allyria & Allem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She didn't see Allem again until the sound of a loud cry was heard. The babe is here!, she though cheerfully.

Her brother Allem didn't come out of the room until the screaming stopped. She was worried for her goodsister, funny and kind Elenya who told her stories and braided her hair whenever she was feeling sad. Allyria had heard the old maester whispering to her brother about the baby not surviving, something about a cord. Allyria squeezed her brother's hand, he forced a smile and kissed her on the forehead.

"Don't worry for my wife, she's stronger than she looks"

"I know that, Allem, but... What of the babe?" She asked, tasting blood inside of her mouth.

"He will be a strong child when he's born. I swear you are as bad as Arthur sometimes," Allem tried to laugh but it came out horribly, he wasn't fooling Allyria. Or anyone, in any case.

"Allem..." He didn't answer nor made any eye contact with her. Something was wrong with Elenya and Allem was there too preoccupy distracting her so she wouldn't worry. "Go back there, brother," He shot her a look and she rolled her eyes "We will be fine"

He nodded suddenly serious and the hope started to grow on her. Elenya will give birth and nurse her baby like any other woman in Dorne, she will love him and kiss him every night before going to sleep like she used to do to Allyria when she was little. The maester and two midwifes entered again the room where Elenya was giving birth, muttering between them and giving her glances that left her uneasy. She didn't see Allem again until the sound of a loud cry was heard.  _The babe is here!,_ she though cheerfully.

Her brother emerged from the room, tired and kind of sweaty, cleaning blood from his hands. Allyria didn't like the look on his face, she almost was too afraid to ask.

"What happened?" Allyria suddenly felt too aware of her nine years of age.  _Did Elenya died, brother?_

Allem moved his head once, keeping his eyes downward and her lower lip started to tremble. She felt his arms surround her, his warm scent in her nose, comforting her.  _I'm suppose to be comforting you!_

Hope was a dangerous thing, she thought someone had say a long time ago, she believed now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you see any grammatical errors you could point them out so I can get better at writing in English)


	9. Ashara II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I will not be swimming today, she thinks morbidly.

Ashara takes on step at time and she counts twenty five until she enters the room she was looking for.

She doesn't let herself think about anything else but her next action (except she fails and her mind drifts to her family, her little sister who is sleeping in her room, her big brother writing a letter to his betrothed and Arthur who she's going to see very soon). She is barefoot and thinks is better, more pure in some way; her hair is loose and and so is her blue dress. From her position she can hear the sea, the waves and the birds happily dancing under the pale tower, she remembers playing with Arthur in the sand, running from the water and swimming and feeling like a fish. _I will not be swimming today_ , she thinks morbidly.

She is on the edge of the window. _One, two-_ , she bend her knees and then...

_-three!_

Ashara jumps. 


	10. Arthur III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur pretends he isn't furious and sick about it because Rhaegar is his closest friend on top of being the Crown Prince.

Arthur knows that is wrong what he's doing, what he's thinking when her hair is falling carefree on his chest (the contrast between her dark shiny hair with his pale chest is something that has always amazes him) while her lips are kissing his skin and every little scar on her way. Elia knows that it is wrong too, but she doesn't seem to care at all, not when Prince Rhaegar is off to Summerhall or Griffin's Roost most of the year, not seeming to care for the well-being of his wife or children.

Arthur knows too that Elia is hurt by that, hurt that Rhaegar doesn't love her or even appreciate the friendship they started to grow after their marriage. She confides it to him, after they've made love and he is laying on his back and she's sprawled on his chest (warm and too thin for her recent fever); Arthur pretends he isn't furious and sick about it because Rhaegar is his closest friend on top of being the Crown Prince. 

But when Elia is kissing him and moaning with her hands gripping his hair, Arthur forgets it all.


	11. Ashara & Jon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashara imagines all that in that very instant and smiles.

Little Jon is warm and sleeping on his crib while Ashara watches him silently letting the last light of the day wash over the room.

His dark hair is just like Allyria's when she was just a babe (now she's six years old and so much more tiring than Jon) and his mouth and nose resembles Arthur's and Allem's. _I see my siblings in him, but anyone could say he looks just like Ned in one glance_ , she thought with distaste. He would grow up and be like his uncles, like Arthur, who was noble and kind and with Allem's sensibility. Allyria would play with him until she got married and maybe Jon would be her husband's squire and be a knight in no time; and maybe, just maybe, Dawn would choose him and there would be another Sword of the Morning on Westeros. 

Ashara would be on Starfall, waiting for him like any other mother would do, praying to the Warrior to give him strength and to the Mother to give him back to her when time would come. Ashara imagines all that in that very instant and smiles.

 


	12. Gerold I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He remembers looking at Dawn, pale and too long and grand for that tiny room

He remembers looking at Dawn, pale and too long and grand for that tiny room and thinking about his cousin Arthur, who was killed at the Tower of Joy a few miles from there.

He remembers thinking all the blood Dawn had seen, all the hands that had cleaned it with great care thinking about its history. His fingers had itched to touch it but the stern look on his father's face had scared him.

(He didn't swing it, much less touch it because later his father had made him accompany the Lady Allyria in the gardens while he talked to Lord Dayne in the studio)


	13. Jon I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But it isn't on their minds to go find Allyria (just a bit older and so bossy and tiny) because then she will go find his mother or Uncle Allem and they won't get another change to see Dawn.

There's a reverent look on their faces. Edric is on his tip toes trying to look at it and Jon is just standing back not daring to breath on it. Nobody knows they are there and that makes it much more dangerous, many things can happen with two kids and a sword without no supervision, but it isn't on their minds to go find Allyria (just a bit older and _so_ bossy and tiny) because then she will go find his mother or Uncle Allem and they won't get another chance to see Dawn.

Dawn. Even the name sound right, powerful. Jon and his cousins played a lot pretending they were the Sword of the Morning, usually it was Allyria who was the damsel in distress but there were time where she would take the wooden sword from his hands and play the part of the knight, not caring for her dress of hair (which was the same color as his, dark and glossy). Ned later would complain about being the girl and Allyria would say he was being a baby. He loved his cousins, truly.

He thinks Dawn is taller than him and the people who had wielded it were even more taller than him, big men with skill, not some bastard boy like him. He takes one step backwards and then leaves. 

 


	14. Allyria II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really, she doesn’t understand him, one trip to the Water Gardens and now he’s a different person with a new nickname (when her brother Allem took her to the Water Garden she didn’t become some pretentious thirteen year old, thank you very much).

She is waiting outside the castle with Maester Marros and Edric or  _Ned_ , as he told her he would like to be called from now on. Really, she doesn’t understand him, one trip to the Water Gardens and now he’s a different person with a new nickname (when her brother Allem took her to the Water Garden  _she_ didn’t become some pretentious thirteen year old, thank you very much). 

Now, Ned, the old Maester and her are waiting at the gates of Starfall, with the sun on their backs and trying to be very patient for the time being. Allyria sighs and catches Ned messing with his hair (she spent most of the morning chasing him with the comb to even let him touch it), she glares at her nephew and smacks him in the arm before Maester Marros notices it. 

From their position they can see the riders, all of them with the lightning bolt sigil (a stupid one, if she’s honest). They are wearing helmets so she can’t see who’s who, Allyria hopes her betrothed is not some ugly fat Lord. As the acting Lady of Starfall, she could broke the engagement and find a handsome man to marry (she has heard Willas Tyrell is well and recuperating after his accident, so there’s that), but it was Allem who set it up and who was Allyria to deny her dead borther’s wishes. 

The group stops and they get off the horse. At last, the leader takes off his helmet; he’s tall and his hair is a shade of red that is not common in dornish people, but it looks just like the red mountains she likes so much. She smiles a bit shyly and makes Ned do it too. 

"My Lady," he says and then bows. She can’t help but giggle.

"My Lord," she responds and Lord Beric kisses the back of her hand so sweetly. "Welcome to Starfall."


	15. Arthur IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t know what he’s caused, he thought amazed and a little bit horrified

Ashara hadn’t been happy when after only three days on their childhood home (Starfall had been as lovely as always and Allem didn’t say anything on their arrival, thank the Gods), he had packed some food and water and set to the red mountains on horse and with Dawn at his back. She had pleaded with him and even threatened him with never ever speaking to him. His older brother had been quiet and thoughtful while Ashara yelled at him and called him names that Oberyn would have been proud to heard.

Little Allyria didn’t know what all the fuss was about so she played with him Come-Into-My-Castle and was blissfully ignorant of her siblings troubles; except one night when she said in the middle on building a fortress with pillows: “I think you shouldn’t go”. Arthur had suddenly felt bad about leaving her but his duty to his Prince was the most important thing for now.

Starfall was protected by the Torentine River and Dorne’s large extensions of red hot sand, so anyone who wanted to siege it or even visit the castle, had to know very carefully where to go. Yes, they are safe: the rebels won’t come this far south, he thought on the ride to his sworn brothers.

The Tower of Joy was unknown to him, he remembered vaguely his Maester telling them something about belonging to an old family with a extinguished last name, but nothing more came to his mind. The White Bull would know, Ser Gerold knew his history and had always wanted to share it with his brothers of the Kingsguard. Three days ride from Starfall, showed him a dark and gloomy tower with the walls covered with vines and weeds.

"He is with his Lady inside," said Ser Oswell mockingly when he let him in. "Rhaegar asked us to stop anyone from entering, are you going to disobey his orders?"

Arthur pushed him out of the way and found his prince bent over a bed, holding the hand of the Lady Lyanna.

"Is she well?" Rhaegar didn’t look up, instead, he kept his eyes on her.

"She will be"

 _He doesn’t know what he’s caused_ , he thought amazed and a little bit horrified. He sighted heavily and left his prince alone, wandering if they were going to survive Rhaegar’s madness.


	16. Ned II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was on a boat and it was making him sick.

He was on a boat and it was making him sick.

In his childhood, there was never a time to go sailing down the Greenblood or the Sea of Dorne (he had swam in the Torentine, like all of his family but that hadn’t made him  _that_  familiar with the swaying of the water under his feet) so maybe that was why he was expelling his internal organs through his mouth.

He rubbed his face and took off the sword at his back and put it near the rail so it wouldn’t bother him. The sword was milky white and was older than most things.  _And it’s mine_ , he thought giddy. Well, not properly, at least. There hadn’t been no one to use it so why not him? He was knight and a Dayne and more than prepare to die in a battle. He’d seen things in the Brothehood Without Banners, things that would make a grown man piss himself, things that were enough for a lifetime.

His Aunt Allyria had been so happy to see him unharmed that he almost stayed with her under the safety of Starfall; his Aunt was a good Lady and managed everything, from what horses would be given to the older son of Lord Tyrell as gift to the number of men punished for killing Oakhearts. Allyria Dayne was a fearsome woman and when she told him he would not be going to any battle, he almost locked himself in his room.

All across Westeros, there were whispers of something coming from beyond the Wall, something that had been sleep for over eight thousand years. Most didn’t believe it, of course: Others and wights marching south? Nonsense! (that was what Aunt Allyria had said during dinner that day). But he had seen it several times already when Lord Beric rose from the dead. 

He knew what kind of threat was coming and he wasn’t the only one. 

Some days later, he took Dawn out of his father studio and ran away with the Lord Tyrell’s intended gift and found a braavosi ship.  _Perhaps, I should had joined a travelling company going north and spared me the trouble._ His tiny cabin smelled like rotten corpse and some of his clothes were ruined beyond repair. The ship needed to touch port now, he was growing restless and missed a steady ground under his feet.  _  
_

He counted twelve days and twelve nights until the ship touched White Harbor’s port. Dawn was already on his back when he entered the Merman’s city. His appearance was a lot different from the dark haired northerners, but a boy barely out of childhood could pass for anyone if he kept his head down and his white sword covered.

For a port city, White Harbor was much more clean than King’s Landing (he hand’t seen much of the capital except the inn Lord Beric and his men were staying) and smaller compared to Oldtown, but had the same air of business. He rented a bed in a nearby inn and dreamed about Starfall.

The horse was a sturdy thing and heavier than his sand steed but could carry all the food and furs he had to buy if he wanted to survive the journey to Winterfell.  _The_  word brought memories of a girl dressed as a boy and a flaming sword. No, remembering would do to him no good, it was best to leave some doors closed. The North had been devastated by the war, leaving burned castles, dead bodies and a general feeling of death and emptiness.

Maester Marros had told him about Winterfell, that it was a grand and ancient castle built by some Brandon Stark who had also made Storm’s End. He hadn’t given much thought to it, but the sight that greeted him was only ruins.

There were no guards on the gates to stop him or any person in the yards to ask where the Lord of Winterfell was. In the stables, there was a boy much younger than him who looked exactly like the type to know everything.

“Where is Lord Stark, boy?” He thanked the Seven for making him taller so he could pretend to be older. The stable boy glared at him.

“There’s no Lord Stark now, only ladies,” He remembered only one Lady Stark and she was as dead as King Robert.

He asked the stable boy for direction and went to the main hall with Dawn crashing noisily against his back at every step. The hall was dimly lighted; he couldn’t see much from his position, but when the northern men started to kneel to the woman, one by one, he saw that she had red hair like Lord Beric. When it was his turn, Ned Dayne kneeled too.  

“My Lady Stark, I pledge my sword to you. I’ll fight for you and for your army in the upcoming war,” He started and laid Dawn at her feet, the white greatsword shone almost unnaturally in the dark hall.

She touched his shoulder lightly and said, “Rise, Ser. My sister and I are very happy to have you with us, I hope you join us in the feast tonight,” Ned smiled and nodded, barely containing his happiness. “That’s an interesting sword”

"It belongs to House Dayne since the Age of Heroes, it was forged in the heart of a falling star," Lady Stark touched in awe and a tiny smile graced her face.

"Dayne? Ned Dayne?" The voice startled him and almost dropped Dawn. The other woman was different from her sister and had a dangerous sort of look. 

"Arya Stark? You are dead!" Of all the time he’d seen Lord Beric rise from death, this was one of the few time he was surprised.

"Obviously not" She said and smirked.


	17. Allyria & Ned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edric’s hair is wet from the drizzle and carries a sword taller than him on his back.

Edric’s hair is wet from the drizzle (it doesn’t really rain in Dorne and the most heavy weather they get is an annoying lukewarm rain, or so the maester told her) and carries a sword taller than him on his back. From her spot on the window, she can see he doesn’t want to get caught in the doors so she goes to the dining hall and leaves the welcoming for Maester Marros and the maids. 

 She sips her wine and waits for her nephew to appear. Her emotions are a mess, it’s always been like that, since she was a little child and Allem was alive: she is happy for him, of course, he came back safe and sound and no visible wounds to speak of but he’s alone and that means something is amiss. She has imaged Ned coming back to Starfall hundreds of times in many different scenarios (she’s his aunt after all, she has the right to worry for her only family left alive) and in many of them, Lord Beric is there. 

She doesn’t quite remember him anymore, many years have passed since their first meeting and Allyria isn’t really good for details. What she does remember is a promise. A promise of bringing her nephew safe to her again (and a marriage between them, but she doesn’t give much thought to that). Ned came back and a betrothal with a barely known Lord from The Marches doesn’t matters at all.  

The wine is gone while she waits for him and she could almost believe Ned didn’t returned until the door of the dining hall opened. Without noticing, she stands up (maybe to reach out for him or because she doesn’t think she can sit while her Edric is so close to her): he seems taller than her, as tall as his father and with the same fair hair. She could almost believe he was the same Ned that left except for something sad around the mouth, something dark and serious. 

She wondered what had happened to him. She wondered if it could be mended. 

She stretches her arms to him. Allyria fears this changed Ned would only allow himself to look at her from afar and not reaching out like she’s doing. But he doesn’t. He closes the space and they find themselves in the middle: she’s quick to wrap her arms around him, hugging him so tightly as to never letting him go away from her. _And he won’t,_ she thinks to herself,  _I won’t let anybody take him away from Starfall, from me._


	18. Ashara/Ned & Jon II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon is sleeping in his cradle, looking as peaceful as the red sands outside the windows.

Jon is sleeping in his cradle, looking as peaceful as the red sands outside the windows. He is not a noisy baby, he doesn’t cry or screams for attention every time she’s not there; he is the best baby a mother could ask and Ashara is grateful.  _So much like his father_ , she thinks amused.

She recalls Allyria crying at every hour if you didn’t feed her immediately, driving her mother to exhaustion more often than not. She also recalls Arthur slipping in the nursery and watching Allyria with attention, she would tease him and ask if he was counting to see if she had all her toes and fingers in order (Arthur would only roll her eyes at her and call her an idiot). 

 _He would laugh now_ , she mused. There was a certain newness about babies that make you look at them for hours, Ashara never understood the appeal of them but now she finds herself looking for every mole or touching the smooth line of his back. Jon is a quiet baby, he likes to being touched by his mother.

The sun is nearly up, no one is rushing anywhere or making any noise. Starfall’s halls shine white with the sun but now they cast shadows as she pass them, touching them with the tip of her fingers as she were a child. Allyria’s door is half open and her faint snores fill the room.

Ashara does this almost every morning before dawn, checking Jon and Allyria before going to sleep again; there’s always a fear they won’t be there when she wakes up, life has killed the two persons she loved the most ans she won’t risk anyone else. Ned is last, as always. Their room is a bit far from the nursery but it was her parent’s and she wants to grasp the last ghost of them.

The first thing she sees is his back, dark and bulky and bare because Ned hasn’t really got used to Dorne’s heat, not after expending all his life in the cold north. It’s all better for her, she likes to touch him and drag her nails down his arm and see the little goosebumps appearing with that look in his eyes that made her toes curl so deliciously.

She tiptoes to the bed and sheds her slippers quietly while she crawls under the covers. Ned is impossible warm next to her, she closes her eyes.


	19. Ashara/Elia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I could give it to her. I could make her happy.

It shouldn’t bother her so much but  _it does_  and she doesn’t understand why. She’s in the gardens with Rhaenys while the princess plays with her new cat (a manse creature called for the most fearsome dragon in the history of Westeros) that her dad brought her from one of his many trips to the south. Ashara is suppose to be playing too, or at least that was what Elia told her before leaving with Arthur, but she just cannot concentrate.

Her eyes travel to the path Elia took with her brother (so handsome and strong with his white armor, how many times she dreamed of him saving her when they were kids?), arm in arm.  _W_ _hat a splendid_   _pair_ , she thinks, the most beautiful couple she’s seen and it burns in her heart like a heavy iron.

Arthur isn’t doing anything and she knows it because she knows him and that he will never break any vow, not even one done to a mad king. She remember imagining her friend and her brother marrying,  _being happy together_. She didn’t imagine herself specifically, just an observer in this happiness. Now, well, now Arthur is busy being a knight and Elia is the most beautiful woman Ashara knows besides her mother. She deserves so much more.

_I could give it to her. I could make her happy._  The sudden realization hit her hard, and what if she did? More often than not ladies engaged in those type of affection, it wasn’t frowned upon in Dorne, she knows that. Rhaenys pulls Ashara’s dress to get her attention, Balerion has run from her grasp and she needs Ashara to get him from a tree. All thoughts forgotten for the moment.


	20. Allyria/Beric

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You know, if you wanted to spend more time with me you should had said so, we are engaged after all"

"You know, if you wanted to spend more time with me you should had said so, we are engaged after all"

She smooths down the inexistent creases of her dress (a soft yellow she has been dying to use since Allem sent it from one of his many travels) and tries to appear nonchalant, even though she just run all the way down from her room to the gardens just to surprise Beric in his morning walk. He only looks mildly surprised to see her and Allyria knows she deserves more than that.

He acknowledge her only by a nod, framed by the blinding sun of the desert. She is glad the silk of her dress is loose around her legs, she would hate it if sweat ruined her appearance. Beric Dondarrion only gives her a look after that (a look she knows, just the same he used when she tried to come up to his room to talk the first night and he didn’t let her because it was _improper_ ). She smiles at him and hold his arm with her hands, just like she has seen the proper ladies do up north.

"Allyria," he says, slowly, pronouncing every syllable with care. "What brings you here?"

They keep walking through the garden, a little thing used to the sun, brittle if it wasn’t for the care of Allem’s wife. She likes it there almost as much as she likes being that close to Beric (bare skin against bare skin), the earthy smell and the constant sound of the fountain right around the corner. There were three and each of them were as beautiful as any other in the Water Gardens. She remembers the Maester telling her those fountains were a gift from a princess, carved from essosi marble.

"We are to be married, I can be wherever I want with you," she hates that she sounds childish and for a moment becomes painfully aware Beric is much older than her.  _Just a few years, that’s it_ , she thinks, calming herself.

"Not without a chaperon, you know that, my lady"

"Allyria," she says, reminding him of his earlier familiarity. "It doesn’t matter and  _you_  know that. You wouldn’t do anything to me”

Beric doesn’t hide his face and Allyria can see how red he is. Just like his hair, she thinks. There weren’t many people around Starfall with hair like him, only little Edric with pale wisps of hair just like she knows her brother Arthur had when he was alive. She wonders briefly how their children will be, with purple eyes and reddish hair? or blue eyes and dark hair like hers? Allyria keeps her face neutral, not wanting Beric to read her, especially when she knows he would get even more embarrassed. 

"Still. What would Lady Dayne say of us?" He answers, looking up where they both now the window of the main rooms lays. 

"My brother’s wife knows what we are doing, Beric _,”_ she says. She wants to roll her eyes at him but instead, she pushes him with her hip in hopes he stops being so uptight. “Or is it you that doesn’t want to be with me?” 

Allyria stops walking and looks at him with all the fury she can muster being directly in front of the sun (and Beric’s embarrassed face). She tosses her hair back and Beric follows the movement with his eyes, and that gives her a bit of satisfaction. 

"I just- I’m sorry, Allyria. I did not mean it like that," he closes the space between them, the air suddenly becoming thick around them, and grabs her hand with ease. She doesn’t oppose him in the least, letting him wrap their fingers together, so impossible warm against her skin. She hopes the heavy beating of her heart isn’t as loud as she thinks. She’s suddenly closer to him and when his lips are brushing her hand (apologetically and tender), she thinks she’s okay with giving Beric time for himself, only if it means more kisses like that. 


End file.
